Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication device that stores information about conditions for continuing predetermined processing, and to a control method of the communication device.
Description of the Related Art
There are methods for automatically setting wireless communication parameters, such as service set identifiers (SSIDs), encryption methods, encryption keys, authentication methods, and authentication keys, which are cumbersome for users to deal with. For example, for a wireless local area network (LAN), there are commercially available methods for automatically transferring, from an access point (repeater) to a station (terminal), wireless communication parameter settings between the access point and the terminal with a simple operation.
Recently, there have been increasing opportunities for communication over ad hoc networks, where devices directly communicate with each other via a wireless LAN without going through an access point. As an example of such communication, FIG. 1 shows a network formed by a printer and a plurality of cameras and where images taken by the cameras are printed on the printer shared over the network.
For communication over such ad hoc networks, there are increasing needs for automating the setting of wireless communication parameters. To meet such needs, some techniques have been developed for automating the setting of wireless communication parameters for an ad hoc network using a wireless LAN. With such techniques, a master device is selected from devices joining a network. Then, the selected master device manages the joining and leaving of a device to and from the network. In such automating techniques, even if any one of a plurality of slave devices has left the network for some reason, the master device detects the leaving of the slave device and can continue the setting of communication parameters with the remaining slave devices.
A problem of such a network managed by a master device is that if the master device has left the network, it becomes no longer possible to continue setting communication parameters. In an attempt to provide a solution to this problem, US Patent Application Publication No. 20050086273 (corresponding to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-129042) discusses a method in which, even if a master station has left a network, it is possible to continuously create a network.
However, according to this known method, if a printer to be used for printing has left a network, such as that shown in FIG. 1 to which a printer and a plurality of cameras are connected, a network that does not allow printing is created.
This presents a usability problem, as the user has to re-create a network including a printer, if a network that does not allow desired processing has been automatically created.